“We’ve been talking all year,” Wallace said after practice Wednesday before ending his interview.

But, ever defiant, he refused to say that his Game 2 performance was anything special.

“No difference,” he said when asked what what the difference was for him between games. “Either or, y’all think it’s just one facet of this game. It’s not. There’s two facets to this game. If I’m not making shots, OK, thenI have to something on defense. So if I’m missing shots or making shots it doesn’t affect my whole overall game.”

Still, there was no denying the impact he had on the game. The Celtics[4] opened up a double-digit lead in the second quarter when he made his first five shots, including three 3’s.

“His play spoke for itself,” Rajon Rondo[5] said. “He was big for us. He doesn’t have to score 20, or whatever he had, 17 each game. But if he can get us 10 [points] and 10 [rebounds] we can definitely win the championship.”

“I need him to keep doing it,” Doc Rivers[7] said. “Maybe he went into the Hot Tub Time Machine. He was good. Now we need him to follow it up, but we need everyone to. That’s just part of team basketball.”

Rivers didn’t specifically credit Garnett’s speech, but did note that players talking to players is often more effective than when the coach has to say something. “It’s been that way for 50 years,” Rivers said.